Baby Steps
by Permanent
Summary: She's working hard, but she can't bring herself to face her friend. former one-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Finally finished reading Ao no Exorcist / Blue Exorcist from where I'd left off last year. This series is amazing; I don't know why the introduction of Shura made me drop the manga, but I'm so glad that I picked it back up. The latest chapters are making me ship Rin and Shiemi. However, I don't have a feel for their characters quite yet so I'm going by what's already stated in the canon (specifically Chapter 19). Man, it feels _so_ good to write something after months of not writing anything! Enjoy.

* * *

She'd vowed to herself that she, Moriyama Shiemi, would work hard so that she wouldn't be useless to her teammates, even if her teammates thought otherwise (which was a nice gesture, really, but she owed them more than she could count for saving her life). Her girl friend and sole female classmate, Kamiki Izumo, had scolded Shiemi for her low self-esteem and/or confidence. It was true that Shiemi was physically weak but, as Izumo pointed out bluntly, the blonde was "shameless" and apparently adept at summoning a Greenman Spirit – a rare talent among the Exorcists nevertheless.

Adjusting her work clothes for neatness and comfort, Shiemi tied her well-shampooed hair to her right side and took a deep breath. The cooks of the temple were fairly nice, likely because they needed all the help they could for feeding tens of the injured and tired. When she'd poked her head in the kitchen and asked whether she could be of assistance, they'd just tossed her a common apron without a question and simply told her to "wash these dishes." She promptly did so, slightly overwhelmed by their kindness.

Helping out by washing, even if it was only a small thing... it made Shiemi feel better. It was only one small step for her, but a giant leap for her kind. The trickling coolness of the flowing water must be conducive; it certainly calmed her internal turmoil and self-doubt. She was making a difference through her actions, she could tell. If she kept at this, Shiemi might become stronger and be on the same fighting level as her friends – _no, I _will_ be strong,_ she firmly corrected herself as her slender fingers ran once more over the glint of the pale china bowl.

Shortly thereafter, Shiemi's dreamy reverie was jolted by the reality of footsteps and familiar voices, in the midst of the chefs' chit-chat and Bon's mother's concise commands. Especially the voice of that –

No. She must not think of this boy. She mustn't, she mustn't. She must scrub the bowl instead. Do not break your concentration. Scrub, scrub, don't mind him at all. Don't scrub too much either, lest you break the bowl. Just scrub, as you'd always done up to this point.

But the boy's voice broke in a single long yell that echoed throughout the kitchen.

"That looks delicious!"

Immediately, a short boy with tossed black hair in a simple black shirt and casual jeans floated into Shiemi's vision. In the tiled wall facing the girl, he greeted Bon's mother with genuine enthusiasm and, big surprise, a fanged mouth full of _drool_, and Shiemi tried to blink away tears of mixed emotions but alas, to no avail. She reluctantly settled for staring forlornly at the distant reflection across her of the boy, who had once been her friend and who may as well still be her friend, if not for his –

She listened, ignoring her impulse to turn her head three-hundred-sixty degrees towards the real boy; she listened to the sound of boxes leaving the wooden table and surprised compliments of Bon's mother and cooks and everyone else (apparently, the boy was very strong; not that she hadn't known already); she listened, with desperate thoughts fleeting across her mind that went dontlookathim dontlookathim dontlookathim even though she knew that the boy was going to stare at her anyway (oh god she could feel his stare at her back oh god); she listened and waited until the plank below creaked and the boy went through the door frame; and then she turned her head at long last at the boy's receding back, his strange tail bobbing merrily behind.

"Be careful!" said a fellow dish-washer next to Shiemi and then Okumura Rin vanished from her sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, what do you know. A second chapter! Wow! I've never continued my fanfiction before (my Inazuma Eleven fic doesn't count, because I... lost motivation to update it), so this is a first! Except it's not really a continuation; more of yet another isolated incident based on canon (specifically, Chapter 21). Goodness, it took me a while just to find it and I ended up reading Chapter 3, when Shiemi was first introduced. Since I wrote this chapter on a late Saturday night, there might be some errors and other things worth improving. But never mind that for now! Enjoy.

* * *

It occurred to him that his precious friend, Shiemi, was ignoring him. To a normal person, it would seem that she would not consider him a friend anymore, but Rin knew Shiemi better than this. He'd made up with both Shima and Konekomaru (somehow), but making up with her was... more difficult, Rin figured. It seemed to him that whenever he approached her, she'd back away from him and use her "work" as her excuse. Well, it certainly was true that she was busier than ever, more so than her time as a plain exorcist-in-training or as a daughter tending to the garden her grandmother had passed down b–

"Goddammit!"

He glared at the three candles, infuriated by the apparent _burning_. They weren't supposed to burn this intensely, were they? He could smell the sharply distinct smoke that penetrated the peaceful atmosphere (hence his cursing), not to mention the instant melting of the wax into an enormous pile of mush. That wasn't supposed to happen either.

"Goddammit!" repeated Rin.

A few feet away and fanning self, Shura-sensei snorted. "Givin' up already?" she taunted.

"NO!" he snapped. "No freaking way! And-and-and, you know what, my shirt's all soaked so I'm just gonna go change and be right back!" He started to go, but turned back and pointed an angry finger at his mentor, as if it was an afterthought. "And in the first place, do your own job as a teacher! Stop being so lazy!"

And so, the willful cat Blacky followed the frustrated Rin as he jumped off the delicately tiled roof, heading towards the well at the bottom. It might do some good to cool his head, for his thoughts of his friends – or so-called "friends" – had boarded the imaginary train. Or rather, scenes of his friends' innermost feelings for their sect replayed in his mind like a bad, broken record.

_Myou Dha is the only place where I truly belong. Anyone who threatens to destroy it is my enemy._ Konekomaru.

_Followers of my temple died in those blue flames. Those blue flames can kill people!_ Bon.

"Dammit!"

Settling down on the lower roof with an audible _oof_, but not quite enough to disturb anyone, Rin glanced at his surroundings absentmindedly, but not quite absentmindedly either. He happened to look to his left and –

Shiemi!

A look of concentration manifested on her face, as she folded the shirt next to the growing pile of the square-shaped clothes. While she was not dressed in her preliminary kimono that Rin had come to associate her with, Shiemi still retained her school clothes and had tied her hair into a ribbon-decorated ponytail. It was a habit that she'd consistently utilized whenever she set down to work.

Still, it was strange for her to work at a time like this: it was a day off for all young exorcists today! Who wouldn't take advantage of that? "Wh-what's wrong with her?" Rin muttered to no one else in particular, his face wrinkling with concern. She should be out, swimming in the pool courtesy of Shima!

The girl froze.

With a jolt, Rin realized that tears were threatening to spill down her pink face. Whether they were from the exhaustion of nonstop working or for an unknown reason, he could guess the latter. It was then that he came to an unsatisfactory conclusion: Shiemi had heard him. He really should apologize.

Yet, the boy stayed silent.

She made a motion to shield her ears from his comments (which was probably the case), but she couldn't avoid the cries of a completely different voice, he noted.

She perked up.

She put the clothes away.

She walked toward a woman in kimono.

She chatted earnestly.

She smiled widely.

Rin watched.

As Bon's mother turned her back to the young girl, Shiemi looked back at the window. Although the roof seemed devoid of any life form, she knew that he had been, and would still be, there. Nevertheless, _smile, smile_. He would see her and she wanted to assuage his fears. And so, she smiled.

_I'll definitely catch up, so just wait for me._


End file.
